Seaside

We live by the sea in a little village called Uphill, which has a long history dating back to way before the Romans even thought of visiting Britain, and in fact before Rome existed as the city-state which conquered much of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Uphill s a sleepy little place now, a village of mixed housing, a couple of churches, and a ruined church upon the hill, two pubs, a restaurant, a tea room, a physiotherapist and a village shop and a two schools, oh, and a hospice too.

However, a mile along the coast, separated from our village by a wood and a golf course, is the much bigger and growing bigger town of Weston-super-Mare. Weston has a lot of light industry, is a dormitory town for Bristol, but is mainly known as being a seaside town.

A couple of hundred years ago, Weston was little more than a few fisherman’s huts and a few farms, but as the popularity of sea-bathing increased, thanks mainly to George III and the Prince Regent, so the town began to grow. Weston was the nearest place to the fashionable city of Bath where people could bathe in the sea; hotels were built (the Royal in 1812) facilities were extended, and then the railway arrived. In 1841 the first carriages were drawn into the town by horses, as the townsfolk didn’t like the noise of the engines. The railway boom was the start of Weston’s boom. Piers were built, day trips came by rail, road and sea, and the town became popular because of its long sandy beaches and mild west coast climate.

Today Weston has suffered as a holiday destination because of the British weather, and because of cheap holidays abroad. However, in the summer the promenade and beach are still full of happy people enjoying what the town has to offer. People may say there is not a lot to do in Weston apart from the prom, pier and beach, but it is the ideal place as a base for visiting surrounding places of interest – Bristol, Bath, Wells, Glastonbury, and thanks to the motorway, a couple of hours away from Wales,Devon, and Cornwall.